Rita Birzina

University of Latvia | LU · Faculty of Biology

The life quality of society and the stability of national economy is largely connected with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The complex character of STEM education demands informed teaching/learning strategies in order to make the 21st century youth interested in learning. The aim of the research was to find out the views...

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education nowadays becomes more and more topical; however, students’ performance in these subjects is rather low and only a small part of them decide to study these sciences therefore it is important to rouse students’ interest in these subjects already at school. It is important to acquire n...

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education nowadays is considered priority. To implement it successfully, students must acquire not only STEM “hard” skills, but also “soft” skills, therefore the choice of teaching/learning methods is essential. Problem-based (PrBL) and projectbased learning (PjBL) aim both at the acquisition...

The necessity of STEM knowledge is being more widely acknowledged as the priority in the development of education; however, students lack sufficient knowledge and interest in the acquisition of STEM subjects. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the teaching and learning methods that would correspond to the contemporary young generation and...

This chapter analyses the current situation and perceptions of quality assurance (QA) in adult education (AE) in Latvia. In the Latvian context, QA in AE is a challenge. According to recent studies, QA should have a formative character in order to facilitate targeted benefits for adult learners, whereas in practice AE in Latvia is more focussed on...

Dabaszinātņu mācību metodika ir četru autoru (J.Logins, R.Birziņa, I.Dudareva un G.Kalvāne) veidots e-mācību līdzeklis topošajiem skolotājiem dabaszinātņu mācību metodikas apguvē. To veido četras nodaļas: 1. Dabaszinātņu “daba” dabaszinātņu metodikas skatījumā. 2. Vērtēšana mācību procesā. 3. Caurviju prasmes dabaszinātņu apguvē. 4. Praktiskie...

https://www.lu.lv/par-mums/lu-mediji/zinas/zina/t/62018/

MOOCs have gained popularity increasingly more and more with their open online approach and mass engagement. They could play an important role in higher education. But the question remains whether students are ready for it. The aim of the study was to find out what students' understanding of online learning was and to what extent they were prepared...

Abstract: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education nowadays becomes more and more topical; however, there are still few students who choose to study these sciences therefore it is important to develop students’ interest in these subjects already at school. Meaningful use of technology in the teaching and learning process o...

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have changed the traditional approach to the teaching process in higher education, so it is important to observe how learning takes place in that technology-rich environment. Cognitive, social, and emotional engagement as part of the MOOCs learning context is a basic principle that prescribes the relationships an...

The education of today more and more encounters the teaching and learning problems of young adults therefore it is topical to find out how to make the teaching/learning of the Millennium generation meaningful. This issue is especially important in STEM education. The survey involved Grade 10-12 students of Latvia, in total 256 students. Spearman’s...

Traditional higher education provision has never served all groups in society. The ambitions of becoming a knowledge-intensive society and economy hinge on the availability of a highly-skilled, flexible workforce (Vassiliou & McAleese, 2014). STEM education is identified as a priority in Latvia. More students are choosing natural science study prog...

The mass-approach in higher education promotes the broadening of students’ number and diversity therefore the question about the young people’s readiness to adapt to studies becomes more and more topical. Students who enrol in the natural science faculties of the University of Latvia (UL) are motivated and have high assessment in biology and chemis...

LU vadošās pētnieces Rita Birziņa un Dagnija Cēdere izstrādājušas pētījumu “Mācīties skolā un studēt augstskolā - vai tas ir tik atšķirīgi?” Pētījuma mērķis bija noskaidrot, kāpēc 1. kursa studentiem ir grūtības ar adaptāciju studijām. “Zinātnes kafejnīcā” R. Birziņa iepazīstināja ar pētījuma rezultātiem – lielākoties iemesli kāpēc studenti agrīni...

About practical improvemnet reading and scientific literacu skills

Nowadays too many students drop out before the end of their higher education studies. Especially topical this problem is directly of the first year students, so it is important to find out how prepared are students for higher studies. The present article reveals the first year students’ readiness for studies in the context of three learning dimensi...

This article theorises the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and non-human components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organised around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses...

Anotācija Masveida atvērtie tiešsaistes kursi (Massive open online courses-MOOCs) ar savu straujo un apjomīgo attīstību ir ietekmējuši tradicionālo studiju procesu augstskolā. Mācīšanās arvien vairāk kļūst neformālāka, klasiskie mācīšanās veidi papildinās ar jaunām pedagoģiskām iespējām, kuras piedāvā atvērtie tiešsaistes kursi. Lai noskaidrotu, kā...

This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and non- human components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses...

The use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) in higher education is becoming increasingly urgent. Therefore it is essential to find out students' views on the opportunities and challenges gained by applying OERs. In the current research there were 127 students involved from different faculties of the University of Latvia. In order to find out their...

The present article reveals the first year students’ readiness for studies in the context of three learning dimensions: content, incentive and interaction. The research was conducted during the implementation of first year study courses of the Bachelor programme at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Latvia. The qualitative data were obtain...

Trends in online education stand to have profound impacts on employment, culture, communication and class around the world. The rapid global expansion in online education resources will make learning opportunities more abundant, cheaper and more accessible. Increased value placed on lifelong learning and the recognition of non-formal and informal l...

The present research has been conducted during the implementation of interuniversity Master's programme "Educational treatment of diversity" carried out in four universities: National University of Distance Education (Spain), Karls-University Prague (Czech Republic), University of Latvia and Ludwigsburg University of Education (Germany) in 2008-200...

The sixth volume of the Qualitative Psychology Nexus comprises documents and contributions of the sixth international meeting on qualitative psychology, organized by EARLI SIG 17 "Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Learning and Instruction". The meeting was organised by the Centre for Qualitative Psychology and the University of Latvia to d...

The educational practice worldwide doesn't adequately promote early school leavers’ learning (Europe 2020). Despite the fact that the education system of Latvia offers evening (shift) schools as a measure to engage such people in learning, in Latvia in the third quarter of 2010 out of the total number of 245.6 thousand inhabitants (aged 18-24) 72.9...

E-mācīšanās ir viens no līdzekļiem, lai veicinātu pārmaiņas akadēmiskajās studijās, nodrošinot iespēju integrēt neformālās un informālās izglītības elementus formālajā izglītībā. Studiju individualizācija, pieejamība jebkurā laikā un e-vide sekmē studentu mācīšanās kompetences attīstību. E-mācīšanās ir saistīta ar mācīšanas, sociālās un kognitīvās...

The rapidly changing economic, financial and social conditions require new knowledge and competences in order to be able to understand them, adapt to the new requirements and remain competitive and successful in the globalised social environment. Widening the access to lifelong learning is one way in which this could be achieved. A special role in...

The activities of the existing educational institutions does not adequately promote the adult participation in learning. Disregarding the fact that the state education system offers evening (shift) schools as an instrument of engagement of such people in the learning process, in Latvia in the third quarter of 2010 from the total number of 245.6 tho...

Background In 2010, from the total number of 245.6 thousand inhabitants (aged 18-24) of Latvia, 72.9 thousand of them did not have secondary education and 30.7 thousand of them were not engaged in any kind of learning it is necessary to determine the opportunities of engagement of the 'young' adults in school in order to diminish the effect of incr...

his White Paper on e-Learning for Lifelong Learning in Latvia is one among a number of white papers dealing with e-Learning and lifelong learning in specific countries in Asia and Europe. The production of these white papers is an Asian-European initiative, with offspring in the e-ASEM network ― the research network on the Development of ICT skills...

E-learning as a means to promote the changes in academic studies provides the opportunity to integrate non-formal and informal learning elements into formal education. Individualization, flexibility in time and e-environment can facilitate the development of students’ competences. The paper deals with the survey on students’ perception of e-learnin...

The article shows patterns of mutual relationships among learning, scientific literacy and biological literacy. The pilot research was carried out in order to study students’ understanding of learning as a development of biological literacy at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Latvia. The research question was set - is there correlation b...

The sixth volume of the Qualitative Psychology Nexus comprises documents and contributions of the sixth international meeting on qualitative psychology, organized by EARLI SIG 17" Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Learning and Instruction". The meeting was organised by the Centre for Qualitative Psychology and the University of Latvia to d...